Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz is now back at Aston Villa after an unsuccessful move to Juventus. He spent the first half of the season on loan at Nottingham Forest, before then sealing another loan move, this time back to Villa, in January 2026.
He previously spent five years at Villa Park between 2019 and 2024, establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s best midfielders. While his career has been on somewhat of a slide over the past few seasons, his public profile has remained quite high.
That has been in no small part thanks to his personal relationships away from the pitch, as he most notably dated Alisha Lehmann in the recent past. He’s now made headlines again with his latest romance.
Douglas Luiz Dating Arsenal Icon’s Daughter
Luiz was in a relationship with Swiss football star Lehmann while they were both with Aston Villa. They then reunited in 2024, with both playing for Juventus, before splitting again in 2025.
Lehmann, who has been described as the ‘world’s sexiest footballer’, is said to currently be dating Love Island star Montel McKenzie after they went Instagram official in January. Luiz, it appears, has now found his own new romance.
Indeed, the Brazilian has recently gone public with his latest girlfriend, a 19-year-old called Duda Gaspar. If the name sounds familiar to football fans, that’s because it is. After all, she is the daughter of Arsenal Invincible Edu Gaspar.
Revealing their relationship, Duda shared a picture of herself with Luiz to her 57,000 followers, with the caption: You are my greatest certainty,” followed by a heart emoticon. The 27-year-old footballer then replied: “Making you happy will be my priority.”
She was even in attendance as the Villans beat Nottingham Forest 4-1 on aggregate to make the 2026 Europa League final, posting photos at Villa Park on her Instagram story. While Luiz also recently replied to an image of Duda in Villa gear, writing: “Perfect combination.”
Edu Signed Luiz, But Both Have Now Left Forest
Since arriving at Villa, Luiz has played 10 Premier League games, missing just two games. But has been on the winning side on just two occasions. Consequently, Unai Emery’s men have fallen out of the title race and top four, and look set to finish fifth.
It’s interesting to note that Edu was acting as club chief when Luiz was signed on loan for Nottingham Forest. It remains unclear if the midfielder knew Duda before then, or if his move to the City Ground is what sparked their relationship.
Both men have now left Forest, though. Following Luiz out the door, Edu was fired recently in rather dismal circumstances, with the relegation-threatened side telling him to stay away from the club’s stadium and training ground shortly before his sacking was confirmed.
Under Edu, Forest went through four managers in the same season, with Nuno Espirito Santo being replaced by Ange Postecoglou, who made way for Sean Dyche before Vitor Pereira became the most recent manager to be put in charge. Evangelos Marinakis’ team now sit 16th in the league, six points above West Ham in the relegation zone.
